


Swordfighting Makes For a Good First Date

by bulletincookie



Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Fantasy AU, M/M, Soulmate AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-02
Updated: 2018-10-02
Packaged: 2019-07-23 14:25:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,520
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16160708
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bulletincookie/pseuds/bulletincookie
Summary: Everyone was born with a tattoo on their wrist of the date and time they would meet their soulmate. Lars wasn't sure he believed in it, but much to his chagrin it turns out to be more than true.





	Swordfighting Makes For a Good First Date

**Author's Note:**

> Hiya! So this was written for the Creators of Hetalia Back to School Exchange, for d-joana-a-shippadora on tumblr! I'm a day late in posting this, but I really wanted to take my time with tweaking it to make sure everyone was in character and everything flowed smoothly. Also in case you didn't see the tags, this is lightly touching on a fantasy AU, hence the knights and Lars being an elf and the weird date. Anyways, I hope you enjoy! ʕっ•ᴥ•ʔっ

_23 Legast 6456 3:00_

Lars looked at the date tattooed on his wrist. Everyone had one, it was the date and time that they would meet their “soulmate”. The elf scoffed and straightened back up, going back to paying attention at his post. As if he would be meeting his soulmate in a week. He had a job to do, to guard the king’s castle and make sure nobody got in that wasn’t allowed clearance. It wasn’t exactly a job where he met new people often.

Why the human king insisted on hiring elves for protection instead of his own people was beyond him. Perhaps it was because of how much taller they were, or their faster reflexes. There were rumors that the king had a fondness for the exotic. Lars had never personally met him and he didn’t care to, all he knew was that he had to protect him and the money would keep coming in. That was all that mattered.

\---

He finished up his shift without anything of note, and headed back to his quarters to take off his armor. He was thankful for how cool the nights still were, despite the day starting to warm up again.

Just as he was finished, there was a knock on the door. Lars groaned quietly in annoyance and reluctantly yanked open the door, where a servant waited. At least it was not another guard asking him to take over a night shift.

“The captain would like to speak with you,” the servant said, and Lars pinched the bridge of his nose to try to keep calm.

“...Fine, but I am not getting my armor back on for this,” he grumbled. He followed the servant in the thin cotton shirt and trousers he wore under his armor, not caring about decency. He had known the captain for too long anyways, the captain had seen him looking worse.

When they got outside of the office, the servant knocked lightly on the door. Lars rolled his eyes, not bothering to wait for a reply before he pushed his way in. The captain looked up, mildly startled by the sudden intrusion before realizing it was Lars.

“Ah, good. You made it quickly,” he sighed.

“There better be a good damn reason I was called right after my shift was over,” Lars grumbled, crossing his arms. The captain’s gaze turned hard and serious, and he leaned forward with his elbows on his desk.

“There is. The king is traveling in one week on a diplomatic mission. You are one of my most faithful and competent guards, so I have included you on the group to go with him,” the captain explained. “You will be escorting him with the rest of his personal guard, so you must maintain yourself. This could earn you a promotion to being one of the personal guards for the king himself.”

Lars’ attention was caught at the last sentence. The royal guards were paid substantial amounts of money. Their job was occasionally more dangerous, but it would be nothing to someone as skilled as him.

“Very well. When does it leave?” he asked.

“The twenty-third, assemble at noon for inspection. You will be departing at three,” the captain explained.

“Understood. Thank you for the opportunity,” Lars said, giving a deep bow. He knew he looked mildly ridiculous, showing such formality in almost no clothes, but it really was a lucrative opportunity.

“Dismissed,” the captain said, waving him off. Lars nodded and turned to leave, grateful that he was able to finally sleep.

It wasn’t until he was halfway back to his room that he caught a glimpse of the tattoo on his wrist and nearly choked.

\---

The entire week, Lars was on edge. The only thing that kept him from going crazy was the knowledge that he could be kicked off of the group to escort the king if he didn’t stay focused. However, that didn’t make it any easier to fall asleep the night before they departed. If they left at 3, then how could he meet his soulmate? Unless...the king wasn’t his soulmate, was he? The tattoo on the king’s wrist was kept a secret from the public, otherwise the palace would be overrun with people on whatever day and time was on his wrist. What if it was the same time as his?

Lars got up and paced around the room, trying to think of what to do. Should he do anything special to his appearance? He was going to possibly be meeting the king himself, after all. Should he have told someone? No, he could have been labeled as having a conflict of interests and would get removed. But then, what if that was how he met his actual soulmate? Lars shook his head and moved to lay back down. The concept of fate was still confusing, even to an elf like him. He would simply have to accept what happens as what happens. If that meant being the king’s soulmate, then so be it.

\---

The next morning, Lars woke up much earlier than he needed to in order to make certain he was not late and that he looked presentable. He was slightly tired from staying up so late last night worrying, but he tried his best to push it aside. He knew he had a long day ahead, he could not afford to be weighed down by exhaustion. He showed up to the inspection early, where the captain’s eyes lit up in pride at seeing him.

“Good to see you Lars,” he said, a loud clang echoing where he clapped Lars on the shoulder with his own gauntleted hand. “You’re here before some of the rest of the royal guard. Line up with the others.”

Lars felt a small bit of pride at hearing that, but kept a straight face and only gave a curt nod before going to join the other guards. He could feel their inquisitive stares at his different armor, and possibly because a couple of the guards were surprisingly human, but he did not pay them any heed. He kept his composure through the entire inspection of his armor and weapons, despite it taking so long because of how many guards there were.

Just as they were finishing up, the rustling and soft clinking of armor drew his and a few others’ attention. He glanced over to see one more guard rushing up and panting softly. Lars couldn’t believe his eyes, the man was wearing the armor of the royal guard and yet he was nearly two hours late? He scoffed and turned his head to stare straight ahead once more as the captain harshly reprimanded him for being so late.

“Afonso, give me one good reason why I should even consider letting you on the escort team after you were so late!” the captain snarled.

“My apologies captain, I had to make sure that I looked presentable,” the guard defended. The captain scoffed at the weak excuse but backed down.

“Consider yourself lucky that I do not have the time to find a suitable replacement for you. Get in line,” he commanded.

Once the last guard got in line and was thoroughly inspected, the captain stood in front of them and cleared his throat. “The carriage should be ready. Since there is not enough room around it, there will be shifts. One group will surround the carriage and walk. That group will be responsible for being the first defenders against any bandits or assassins, while the other sits on the edge and keeps lookout. If any harm should come to the king and his diplomats, you better hope you are killed before you can come back to take responsibility.”

Lars frowned lightly at the instructions. It seemed harsh, but it made sense to him. The captain dismissed them and they all marched in a line outside of the courtyard to the carriage, where servants where scrambling about to make sure that everything necessary was in and secure. Lars made sure to be part of the group standing around the carriage. It would be more impressive to the king and captain if he willingly took what seemed like the job that took more exertion.

The guards stood and sat around waiting, until Lars overheard a servant saying that the king was coming. He couldn’t help but glance down at his wrist and then back at the sun. It was almost three on the dot.

“Out of my way, elf. I have a royal soulmate to meet,” a voice spoke up, and the pure smugness in the tone tested Lars’ patience as a smaller guard attempted to push him aside. Lars recognized him as the one that was two hours late. He grabbed the human’s wrist and glared down at him.

“What do you mean ‘royal soulmate’?” he snorted.

“Tattoo doesn’t lie,” the other guard scoffed. “I’m about to meet my soulmate. It has to be the king.”

“You cannot honestly believe someone as irresponsible as you is the king’s soulmate,” Lars retorted. “Who do you think you are?”

“Afonso Vaz de Pessoa,” the human replied proudly, puffing his chest out slightly. “Best knight of the royal guard.” A wicked smirk crossed his face as he looked up at Lars. “Not to mention, a human,” he added softly. Lars had to clench his jaw to hold back a growl.

“I am Lars Peeters, and if you are the best knight in the royal guard, I almost feel insulted that--” He stopped as the bell rang out, loud and clear, with three slow chimes. All of the guards looked about. The king was supposed to be there by now, wasn’t he? A servant hurried out.

“I apologize for the delay, His Majesty is still getting dressed,” the servant said, out of breath from running around so much.

“What? But it’s three, is it not?” Afonso retorted, ripping his gauntlet off to look at his own tattoo. “Then what-- Hey!” he cried out as Lars suddenly gripped his arm to yank it up and look at the writing on his wrist in disbelief.

_23 Legast 6456 3:00_

“What are you looking at?” Afonso scoffed, yanking his wrist away to quickly cover it back up with his gauntlet. “Elves have the same thing too, don’t you?”

Lars pinched the bridge of his nose and heaved a deep sigh. “...We do,” he muttered. He took off his own gauntlet and reluctantly held it out to Afonso, whose face twisted into a grimace as he looked up at him.

“No,” he said flatly. “No way.”

“Is there a problem here?” the captain said gruffly as he strode over. Afonso immediately straightened up.

“There is no problem,” Lars assured the captain. “Simply a misunderstanding.”

“There better not be any other ‘misunderstandings’,” the captain growled, and Lars gave a salute.

“Of course sir,” Lars said, and the captain gave them both a suspicious glare before turning to check on the other guards. Lars sighed in relief and looked at Afonso annoyed.

“You nearly cost me a promotion,” he hissed, putting his helmet on.

“Promotion?” Afonso repeated indignantly.

“I have a chance to be promoted to the royal guard if I perform well on this assignment,” Lars explained. “Probably to pick up the slack of guards like you.”

“I am a perfectly competent guard!” Afonso defended.

“How about you prove it?” Lars offered. “A practice spar, when we stop tonight.”

Afonso turned to look at him with furrowed brow. He looked him up and down, a harsh frown on his face. “It wouldn’t be fair. You’re an elf,” he reasoned.

“Surely you were trained to handle enemies of all sizes,” Lars said, a smirk tugging at his lips. “Though if you are too afraid to fight an elf, then you should say so.”

That got a reaction out of Afonso, and he whirled back around him so fast that he nearly was smacked with his ponytail. “The minute we stop for the night, I am kicking your pretentious ass,” he hissed, turning around again to storm off to find a spot to sit on the carriage.

Lars sighed and shook his head, straightening up and getting ready as the palace doors opened and the king stepped out. It was not even close to how he imagined meeting his soulmate would go. He was still skeptical that Afonso was his soulmate, but as he walked along the carriage, he couldn’t help but spare an occasional glance over at him.

He would be lying if he said that he did not find the fierce, prideful human a little bit attractive.

\---

Lars was so tired by the time that they arrived to the large mansion where they would stay for the night, he nearly forgot that he had promised Afonso a sparring match. He was about to trudge inside, but a strong grip on his arm stopped him. Lars turned around and sighed heavily at the sight of Afonso standing there, green eyes blazing with fury.

“Are you trying to run from a fight?” Afonso hissed.

“I had forgotten,” Lars grumbled, shrugging off Afonso’s hand. “Can we do it in the morning? I was walking the entire trip, it would not be a fair fight.”

Afonso glowered at him, his hand moving to rest on the hilt of his sword. “Absolutely not. Draw your weapon,” he retorted.

Lars sighed heavily and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Fine,” he said. “But it should be cleared with the captain first.”

Afonso growled and threw his hands up in frustration. “You want to be part of the royal guard don't you? Quit trying to run away from a fight!” he snapped. Lars gritted his teeth and took a step back to refrain from punching him in the jaw.

“He is right over there. I simply do not want him to think we are trying to kill each other,” he defended, and Afonso glanced over in the direction of where Lars pointed, where the captain was observing the servants getting everything out of the carriage. He scoffed and turned back to Lars.

“Fine,” he agreed, stepping aside. Lars gave him a small nod and stepped over to the captain, his chin held

“Captain,” he announced himself, giving a salute. The captain groaned in annoyance and turned to look at Lars.

“What?” he asked. “Don't tell me someone else dropped something.”

“Er, no. Afonso offered to spar with me to give me pointers on fighting,” Lars said, and the captain thought it over with a frown.

“A little bit of extra training eh?” he mused, stroking the stubble on his chin. “Very well. One match. Do not make too much noise, and do not wound each other. There is space over there,” he agreed, pointing to an open patch of grass that was out of the way.

“Thank you sir,” Lars said, giving him another salute before turning and striding back to Afonso, who was watching him with narrowed eyes.

“Well?” Afonso asked, tapping his foot impatiently.

“One match, over there. We have to keep quiet and no wounding,” Lars said, gesturing to the patch of grass.

“Fucking finally,” Afonso scoffed, leading the way to the patch. He tossed his helmet aside, and Lars hesitated before doing the same.

“Remember, no--”

“Yeah yeah I got it, no wounding. Just draw your sword already you pointy eared prick,” Afonso growled, pulling his sword out and holding it at the ready in his hand. Lars rolled his eyes and drew his own sword.

“The first to get disarmed and knocked down loses,” Afonso said. “No blows to the head, and no wounding.” He stepped back a couple more paces and held his sword up. “Show me what you’ve got.”

Lars tightened his grip on his sword briefly for a moment before rushing towards Afonso, his sword raised up as if to make a blow on his right. Afonso easily stopped it with his sword and stepped to the side, but Lars followed him and barreled into him.

Afonso just barely managed to jump back to regain his balance, and charged back towards Lars before Lars had a chance to recover as well. Lars held his sword up to block it, silently wishing the fight would just be over already. He could feel the ache starting to set in his legs, feet, and shoulders from walking all afternoon and evening with the heavy armor on.

He just barely managed to step away in time before Afonso pulled his sword away to try to knock Lars’ sword out of his hand, and he took a couple steps away to try to look for another opening. Lars wanted to believe that if he was completely fit and rested, he would be able to beat Afonso easily due to standing almost a head taller than him, but he wasn’t sure. Afonso’s attitude earlier made him underestimate his fighting skill, and that was obvious as Afonso charged him again.

Lars thought Afonso was simply charging him blindly, and he brought his sword up to get ready to block a direct attack again, but Afonso ducked and sidestepped him to circle around. Lars barely turned around in time to block the blow aimed at his back.

Stray sparks flew off of their swords as they clashed again and again, each one advancing and stepping back in time. Finally, their swords were locked, both pushing to try to knock the other back. Lars knew he would have won at that point if he weren’t so sore, but he had to take a step back to get better purchase and try to push back against Afonso. Afonso narrowed his eyes and clenched his jaws, and Lars had to dig his heels into the soft ground to keep from getting knocked over at the hard push that Afonso gave. Afonso leaned in slightly, and Lars knew that if looks could kill, he would have two holes in his head where Afonso was glaring at him. He was surprised when he noticed the furrow in his brow to soften up slightly and his glare turn into a look that seemed almost...confused?

Lars didn’t take the time to think about it as he felt Afonso lighten up just barely, giving him an opening to step aside and knock the sword out of Afonso’s hands. Afonso stumbled from the sudden loss, and Lars took the opportunity to rush into him, his shoulder hitting Afonso’s chest with a loud clang and knocking him to the ground.

Afonso sat on the ground, his legs splayed out in front of him as he stayed propped up to stare up at Lars. Lars held his sword at Afonso in a silent declaration of winning, expecting a snarky comment from the smug human, but surprisingly Afonso was silent as he stared up at him with wide eyes, his mouth opening and closing a few times as he struggled to find the words that died in his throat. Finally he seemed to snap out of whatever daze held him, and he cleared his throat.

“Good match,” he muttered, and Lars drew his sword away and put it back in its sheath. He held his hand out to Afonso, who took it gladly to stand back up and walk over to where his sword had fallen.

“We should get some rest now,” he muttered, pointedly avoiding Lars’ eyes as he walked past him to grab his helmet. If his eyes could not see as well in the dark, Lars would have sworn he was imagining the light blush that dusted Afonso’s cheeks. Lars couldn’t help but smirk as he picked up his own helmet, thinking it embarrassment at being beat by a guard that wasn’t equal to him yet. He didn’t have time to poke at Afonso for it as Afonso rushed inside.

By the time Lars made it inside, Afonso was already laying down in one of the cots that had been hastily set up for the escort party, along with the rest of the guard that was almost entirely asleep. He went about taking off his armor as quietly as he could, though he stopped when he felt like he was being watched. He glanced over his shoulder, hearing a quick rustle of sheets as Afonso shifted.

Lars frowned and shrugged it off. He must have been imagining it, Afonso surely wasn’t staring at him. He climbed into his cot and tugged the thin sheet over himself. He glanced at his wrist, where the tattoo taunted him. Maybe the whole thing about meeting his soulmate at that time was wrong. He spared a quick glance over his shoulder, where Afonso lay motionless on his bed. Lars couldn’t get the image of him sprawled in the grass out of his mind. His eyes, which were a beautiful, leafy green, wide as he stared up at him in shock, his hair slightly ruffled from the match, his chest heaving for air from exertion...

Perhaps he found Afonso more than just a little attractive.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! If you liked it, please consider leaving a comment and/or a kudos! (Also I have a ko-fi if you REALLY liked it at https://ko-fi.com/portugay)


End file.
